By TRACY JOHNSON, P-I REPORTER

Published 10:00 pm, Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Some public defenders in Seattle Municipal Court are handling too many cases, the complaint process needs work, and the city isn't doing enough to make sure the attorneys are promptly meeting with clients.

Those are the key findings of a city audit discussed Tuesday by the City Council's Public Safety Committee, which passed a resolution to urge the Mayor's Office to make some changes to the way things are done.

If lawyers are juggling too many cases, people accused of crimes "are not going to be getting adequate legal services," Nick Licata, the committee chairman, said this week. "Cases could drag on longer, and there's a greater chance of appeals down the road."

The city contracts with two non-profit public defense agencies to provide lawyers for people who are charged with misdemeanors -- drunken driving, low-level assault and other crimes -- and can't afford to hire counsel.

For years, the city went through King County for its public defense services. But in 2005, the city began contracting directly with the agencies.

The switch has saved the city $1 million each year and has achieved "swifter justice" because attorneys have been assigned to cases more quickly, according to Marianne Bichsel, spokeswoman for Mayor Greg Nickels.

People are also more likely to be represented by the same agency for each of their court hearings, she said.

But the audit, called for by Licata and City Councilman Richard McIver, found problems with the new system.

The city's current method of counting how many people each lawyer represents isn't accurate, the audit found. It has led to attorneys taking on more than the 380 cases they are each supposed to handle each year.

Auditors also found that the city's Office of Policy and Management isn't doing enough to keep tabs on the lawyers -- for example, making sure the public defense agencycontacts jailed clients within 24 hours after their arrest, said deputy auditor David Jones.

People also need to be told whom they can talk to if they have complaints about their public defenders, and the agencies should be required to notify the city about all complaints, according to the lengthy audit report.

Senior policy analyst Catherine Cornwall said the city has already made changes to make sure lawyers' caseloads are counted accurately.

Since 2005, one agency, the Associated Counsel for the Accused, has had roughly 22 attorneys handling cases in Seattle Municipal Court, and the secondary agency, The Defender Association, has had two.

Auditors recommended giving the secondary agency a larger role.

Floris Mikkelsen, director of The Defender Association, said she would welcome the chance for her agency to handle more of the cases -- ideally, by having at least seven to 10 attorneys working in Municipal Court.

She said it's been difficult with just two lawyers "because there are six or seven courtrooms you have to be in at the same time."